Mining and metallurgy in medieval Europe
Encyclopedia
The Middle Ages
in Europe cover the time span from the 5th c. AD, marked by the decay of the Roman Empire
, to the 16th c. AD, when social and economic factors shifted Europe towards the Modern Era. During the millennium between classical antiquity
and the modern period, a series of technological innovations and inventions, which led to the industrial era, took place. Such technological achievements affected directly the extraction of raw materials, such as metal ores
and coal
, and the growth of the metal output in terms of quantity, as well as quality.
Metal production in medieval Europe may have been affected, decreased or increased, by different factors, but it was never ceased, as different kinds of metal objects were always in demand either in periods of war (e.g. arms and armour) or peace (e.g. implements and tools, coinage, building construction, decoration, bells, ecclesiastical and status items, etc.). Metallurgical activities were also encouraged by central political power, regional authorities, monastic orders and ecclesiastical overlords, who always tried to have control and claimed Regalian rights over the mines and a share in the output, both in private lands and regions belonging to the Crown. They were particularly interested in the extraction of the precious metal ores, but not only, and for this reason the mines in their territories were open to all miners (Nef 1987, 706-715).
During the first medieval centuries, the output of metal was in a steady decline and constraint in small scale activities. Methods much less efficient, than those of the roman times, were adopted by miners. Ores
were extracted only from shallow depths or from remnants of former abandoned mines, given that the old shafts haven’t sunk. The vicinity of the mine to villages or towns was also a determinant factor when deciding about working on site, because of the high cost of material transportation (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, b). It seems like only the output of iron
diminished less in relation to the rest of the base and precious metals until the 8th c. AD. This fact, correlated with the dramatic decrease in copper
production, in particular, may indicate a possible displacement of copper and bronze
artifacts from iron ones (Forbes 1957, 64; Bayley et al. 2008, 50).
By the end of the 9th c. AD, economic and social conditions, which dictated the increased need of metal for agriculture, arms, stirrups and decoration, started to favour metallurgy and a, slow but steady, general progress was noted. Smelting sites were multiplied and new mines were discovered and exploited, like the well-known Mines of Rammelsberg
, close to the town of Goslar by the Harz Mountains. Open-cast mining and metallurgical activities were mostly concentrated in the Eastern Alps, Saxony, Bohemia, Tuscany, the Rhineland, Gaul and Spain (Nef 1987). French, Flemish, but mainly German miners and metallurgists were the generators of metal production.
The main concern had to do with inefficient means for draining water out of shafts and adits when operating underground mining, which resulted in flooding of mines and limited extraction activities only in depths close to the surface. Once ores extracted, more problems concerning the difficulty of their transportation and thus the high cost of undertaking such attempts, as well as the profitable separation of metals from gangue
or secondary separation of metals, came up. The need for solutions to these problems was the power that generated the development of achievements with critical impact over medieval metal output. The use of water power and wheels
for water-driven draining engines, bellows
, hammers and the introduction of advanced types of furnaces were the craftsmen response to this problematic. However, the introduction of these innovations did not mean that they were adopted at once or applied to all mines and smelting sites. Throughout the medieval period technical innovations and traditional techniques coexisted and their application depended on the time period and geographical region. Water power in medieval mining and metallurgy was introduced even before the 11th c. AD, but it was only until then that it was widely applied. In addition, the introduction of the blast furnace
, mostly for iron smelting, and the Stückofen furnace in all the established centres of metallurgy contributed to quantitative and qualitative improvement of the metal output, available in lower price. In addition, cupellation
, already known from the 8th c. AD, was more often applied for the refinement of lead-silver ores and the obtainment of the precious metal (Bayley 2008).
Underground work in shafts
, although limited in certain depths, was accomplished either by fire setting, for massive ore bodies, or with iron tools, for smaller scale extraction of limited veins. The sorting of base and precious metal ores was completed underground and they were transferred separately (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, b). Parallel production with more than one technical methods and different treatment of ores can be present in one site (Rehren et al. 1999).
The intensified progress and the unprecedented interest in metal production were also reflected in the multiplication of active mines and smelting sites (Nef 1987). In relation to sites of the early Middle Ages, these smelting sites need not be near the mines. The presence of streams and thick forests and the access to water for generating the wheels and to wood for fuel and building were more critical than ever. Rich silver-bearing ores of Freiberg in Saxony, discovered by accident in the 12th c. AD, rivaled the Rammelsberg production. While until the 11th and 12th c. AD, mining took place mainly in the Eastern Alps, during the following period it was also spread to regions of Central Europe. Base metals such as copper
, lead
, zinc
, tin
and iron
, precious metals (silver
and gold
) and alloys, such as brass
, bronze
, pewter
, caldarium
were produced in Central Europe. The most famous regions for their metal production are Bohemia, Silesia, Hungary, Upper Harz
, the Black Forest, Styria, Saxony, England, France and Spain. While abundant wood resources were provided by the thick woodlands of the Carpathians, the Erzgebirge and the Sudeten Mountains.
(1315–1317), the Black Death
(1347–1353), which diminished European population to 1/3, and the Hundred Years War (1337–1453), which amongst others caused severe deforestation, had also dramatic influences in metallurgical industry and trade. The great demand of material, e.g. for armour, could not be met due to the lack of manpower and capital investment.
It is only by the end of the 13th c. AD that great capital expenditures are invested and more sophisticated machinery is installed in underground mining, which resulted in reaching great depths. The wider application of water- and horse-power was necessary for draining water out of these deep shafts. Also, acid parting in separating gold from silver was introduced in the 14th c. AD (Bayley 2008). However, notable signs of recovery were present only after the mid 15th c. AD, when the improved methods were widely adopted (Nef 1987, 723).
Determinant for the European metal production and trade was the discovery of the New World
, which affected world economy ever since. Even though new rich ore deposits were found in Central Europe during the 15th c. AD, this was not enough to meet the large amounts of precious metal imports from America.
, farming and pasture and they were allowed to use streams and lumber (Nef 1987, 706-715).
Progressing to the high and late Middle Ages, as smelting sites became geographically independent from mines, metalworking was separated from ore smelting. The urban expansion from the 10th c. AD onwards and the dominant role of towns provided metallurgists with the right environment to develop and improve their technology. Metallurgists got organized in guilds and, usually, their workshops were concentrated in town peripheries (McLees 1996).
In medieval societies liberal and mechanical arts were considered as totally different from each other. Metallurgists, as all craftsmen and artisans, lacked the methodical intellectual background but they were the pioneers of casual thinking, based on empirical observation and experimentation (Zilsel 2000).
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
in Europe cover the time span from the 5th c. AD, marked by the decay of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, to the 16th c. AD, when social and economic factors shifted Europe towards the Modern Era. During the millennium between classical antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and the modern period, a series of technological innovations and inventions, which led to the industrial era, took place. Such technological achievements affected directly the extraction of raw materials, such as metal ores
Orés
Orés is a municipality in the Cinco Villas, in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Cinco Villas. It is placed 104 km to the northwest of the provincial capital city, Zaragoza. Its coordinates are: 42° 17' N, 1° 00' W, and is...
and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, and the growth of the metal output in terms of quantity, as well as quality.
Metal production in medieval Europe may have been affected, decreased or increased, by different factors, but it was never ceased, as different kinds of metal objects were always in demand either in periods of war (e.g. arms and armour) or peace (e.g. implements and tools, coinage, building construction, decoration, bells, ecclesiastical and status items, etc.). Metallurgical activities were also encouraged by central political power, regional authorities, monastic orders and ecclesiastical overlords, who always tried to have control and claimed Regalian rights over the mines and a share in the output, both in private lands and regions belonging to the Crown. They were particularly interested in the extraction of the precious metal ores, but not only, and for this reason the mines in their territories were open to all miners (Nef 1987, 706-715).
Early Middle Ages, 5th-10th c. AD
The social, political, economic stagnation and decline that followed the decadence of the Roman World affected Europe, throughout the early medieval period, and had critical impact upon the technological progress, trade and social organization. Technological developments that affected the course of metal production were only feasible within a stable political environment, and this was not the case until the 9th c. AD (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, a).During the first medieval centuries, the output of metal was in a steady decline and constraint in small scale activities. Methods much less efficient, than those of the roman times, were adopted by miners. Ores
Orés
Orés is a municipality in the Cinco Villas, in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It belongs to the comarca of Cinco Villas. It is placed 104 km to the northwest of the provincial capital city, Zaragoza. Its coordinates are: 42° 17' N, 1° 00' W, and is...
were extracted only from shallow depths or from remnants of former abandoned mines, given that the old shafts haven’t sunk. The vicinity of the mine to villages or towns was also a determinant factor when deciding about working on site, because of the high cost of material transportation (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, b). It seems like only the output of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
diminished less in relation to the rest of the base and precious metals until the 8th c. AD. This fact, correlated with the dramatic decrease in copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
production, in particular, may indicate a possible displacement of copper and bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
artifacts from iron ones (Forbes 1957, 64; Bayley et al. 2008, 50).
By the end of the 9th c. AD, economic and social conditions, which dictated the increased need of metal for agriculture, arms, stirrups and decoration, started to favour metallurgy and a, slow but steady, general progress was noted. Smelting sites were multiplied and new mines were discovered and exploited, like the well-known Mines of Rammelsberg
Mines of Rammelsberg
The Rammelsberg is a mountain, high, on the northern edge of the Harz, south of the town of Goslar in the north German state of Lower Saxony. The mountain is the location of an important mine, the only mine which had been working continuously for over 1,000 years when it finally closed in 1988...
, close to the town of Goslar by the Harz Mountains. Open-cast mining and metallurgical activities were mostly concentrated in the Eastern Alps, Saxony, Bohemia, Tuscany, the Rhineland, Gaul and Spain (Nef 1987). French, Flemish, but mainly German miners and metallurgists were the generators of metal production.
High Middle Ages, 11th-13th c.AD
The period right after the 10th c. AD mark the widespread application of several innovations in the field of mining strategies and ore treatment and, consequently, the shift to large scale and better quality production. Medieval miners and metallurgists had to find solutions for the practical problems that limited former metal production, in order to correspond sufficiently to the calls of those times. The increased demand for metal was an expression of the remarkable population growth of the 11th-13th c. AD and its impact on agriculture, trade, building construction, including the great gothic churches.The main concern had to do with inefficient means for draining water out of shafts and adits when operating underground mining, which resulted in flooding of mines and limited extraction activities only in depths close to the surface. Once ores extracted, more problems concerning the difficulty of their transportation and thus the high cost of undertaking such attempts, as well as the profitable separation of metals from gangue
Gangue
In mining, gangue is the commercially worthless material that surrounds, or is closely mixed with, a wanted mineral in an ore deposit. The separation of mineral from gangue is known as mineral processing, mineral dressing or ore dressing and it is a necessary and often significant aspect of mining...
or secondary separation of metals, came up. The need for solutions to these problems was the power that generated the development of achievements with critical impact over medieval metal output. The use of water power and wheels
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
for water-driven draining engines, bellows
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
, hammers and the introduction of advanced types of furnaces were the craftsmen response to this problematic. However, the introduction of these innovations did not mean that they were adopted at once or applied to all mines and smelting sites. Throughout the medieval period technical innovations and traditional techniques coexisted and their application depended on the time period and geographical region. Water power in medieval mining and metallurgy was introduced even before the 11th c. AD, but it was only until then that it was widely applied. In addition, the introduction of the blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
, mostly for iron smelting, and the Stückofen furnace in all the established centres of metallurgy contributed to quantitative and qualitative improvement of the metal output, available in lower price. In addition, cupellation
Cupellation
Cupellation is a metallurgical process in which ores or alloyed metals are treated under high temperatures and carefully controlled operations in order to separate noble metals, like gold and silver, from base metals like lead, copper, zinc, arsenic, antimony or bismuth, that might be present in...
, already known from the 8th c. AD, was more often applied for the refinement of lead-silver ores and the obtainment of the precious metal (Bayley 2008).
Underground work in shafts
Ventilation shaft
In subterranean civil engineering, ventilation shafts, also known as airshafts or vent shafts, are vertical passages used in mines and tunnels to move fresh air underground, and to remove stale air....
, although limited in certain depths, was accomplished either by fire setting, for massive ore bodies, or with iron tools, for smaller scale extraction of limited veins. The sorting of base and precious metal ores was completed underground and they were transferred separately (Martinon-Torres & Rehren in press, b). Parallel production with more than one technical methods and different treatment of ores can be present in one site (Rehren et al. 1999).
The intensified progress and the unprecedented interest in metal production were also reflected in the multiplication of active mines and smelting sites (Nef 1987). In relation to sites of the early Middle Ages, these smelting sites need not be near the mines. The presence of streams and thick forests and the access to water for generating the wheels and to wood for fuel and building were more critical than ever. Rich silver-bearing ores of Freiberg in Saxony, discovered by accident in the 12th c. AD, rivaled the Rammelsberg production. While until the 11th and 12th c. AD, mining took place mainly in the Eastern Alps, during the following period it was also spread to regions of Central Europe. Base metals such as copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, precious metals (silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
) and alloys, such as brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
, bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, pewter
Pewter
Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and lead. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C ,...
, caldarium
Caldarium
right|thumb|230px|Caldarium from the Roman Baths at [[Bath, England]]. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor....
were produced in Central Europe. The most famous regions for their metal production are Bohemia, Silesia, Hungary, Upper Harz
Mining in the Upper Harz
Mining in the Upper Harz region of central Germany was a major industry for several centuries, especially for the production of silver, lead, copper, and, latterly, zinc as well. Great wealth was accumulated from the mining of silver from the 16th to the 19th centuries, as well as from important...
, the Black Forest, Styria, Saxony, England, France and Spain. While abundant wood resources were provided by the thick woodlands of the Carpathians, the Erzgebirge and the Sudeten Mountains.
Late Middle Ages, 14th-16th c. AD
By the 14th c. AD, the majority of the more easily accessible ore deposits were exhausted. Thus, more advanced technological achievements were introduced in order to cope up with the demand in metal. However, a significant hiatus in underground mining was noted during the 14th and the early 15th c. AD because of a series of historical events with severe social and economic impacts. The Great FamineGreat Famine
Great Famine may refer to any of several historical famines:* The Great Famine of 1315–1317 in northern Europe* The Great India Famine of 1344-1345...
(1315–1317), the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
(1347–1353), which diminished European population to 1/3, and the Hundred Years War (1337–1453), which amongst others caused severe deforestation, had also dramatic influences in metallurgical industry and trade. The great demand of material, e.g. for armour, could not be met due to the lack of manpower and capital investment.
It is only by the end of the 13th c. AD that great capital expenditures are invested and more sophisticated machinery is installed in underground mining, which resulted in reaching great depths. The wider application of water- and horse-power was necessary for draining water out of these deep shafts. Also, acid parting in separating gold from silver was introduced in the 14th c. AD (Bayley 2008). However, notable signs of recovery were present only after the mid 15th c. AD, when the improved methods were widely adopted (Nef 1987, 723).
Determinant for the European metal production and trade was the discovery of the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, which affected world economy ever since. Even though new rich ore deposits were found in Central Europe during the 15th c. AD, this was not enough to meet the large amounts of precious metal imports from America.
Smiths and Miners within Medieval Society
Metallurgists throughout medieval Europe were free to move within different regions. German metallurgists in search of rich precious metal ores, for instance, took the leading part in mining and affected the course of metal production, not only in East and South Germany, but in almost all Central Europe and the Eastern Alps. As mining was gradually became a task for specialized craftsmen, miners moved in large groups and they formed settlements with their own customs close to mines. They were always welcome by the regional authorities, since the latter were interested in increasing the revenue and the exploitation of the mineral-rich subsurface was quite profitable. The authorities, lay and ecclesiastical, claimed a part of the output and smiths and miners were provided with land for cottages, mills, forgesForges
-In France:*Forges, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department*Forges, Maine-et-Loire, in the Maine-et-Loire department*Forges, Orne, in the Orne department*Forges, Seine-et-Marne, in the Seine-et-Marne department*Forgès, in the Corrèze department...
, farming and pasture and they were allowed to use streams and lumber (Nef 1987, 706-715).
Progressing to the high and late Middle Ages, as smelting sites became geographically independent from mines, metalworking was separated from ore smelting. The urban expansion from the 10th c. AD onwards and the dominant role of towns provided metallurgists with the right environment to develop and improve their technology. Metallurgists got organized in guilds and, usually, their workshops were concentrated in town peripheries (McLees 1996).
In medieval societies liberal and mechanical arts were considered as totally different from each other. Metallurgists, as all craftsmen and artisans, lacked the methodical intellectual background but they were the pioneers of casual thinking, based on empirical observation and experimentation (Zilsel 2000).